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Should America rid itself of school tests?

Debate Information

For years, the children of America have been taking required tests by schools, like the standardized test. Because of these required tests, teachers will teach their students ONLY what is required on the test, and because of this, the breadth of a child in public school's education is not as wide as demanded around America. Public schools have so many problems that family's have started homeschooling because of religion problems and because they want their child to learn more. In the 1st Amendment, it states that federal and state governments cannot make any law's abiding religion, that means schools cannot practice any religion. We could probably fix this problem by making certain schools based off of certain religions, and certain people with those certain beliefs can go to those certain schools. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have also strayed of topic, back to the debate. I feel if we rid ourselves of these tests, and focus on the whole education of these children, we may fix this problem. Fixing this problem will likely be devastatingly hard, but once we do, it would probably guarantee intelligent citizens as needed, and we would have better statesmen, lawyers, judges, and such, making America better and more prosperous.

Thank you for reading, and PLEASE answer the poll.

melef
  1. Live Poll

    Should America rid itself of school tests?

    13 votes
    1. Yes
      15.38%
    2. No
      84.62%



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    Arguments


  • George_HorseGeorge_Horse 499 Pts   -  
    I do not believe getting rid of tests should be necessary. Though I am not a teacher, I believe those types of tests can be good to teachers in seeing how well the students have learned their assignments, and pointing out what subjects need to be taught in a better way.
    "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

    "A communist is like a crocodile" ~Winston Churchill

    We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.~Orson Welles
  • @George_Horse Tests have there good and bad reasons, but these tests shouldn't be required
  • George_HorseGeorge_Horse 499 Pts   -  
    @George_Horse Tests have there good and bad reasons, but these tests shouldn't be required
    What "tests" are you talking about?
    "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

    "A communist is like a crocodile" ~Winston Churchill

    We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.~Orson Welles
  • @George_Horse the tests such as the standardized test and other end-of-the-year tests
    George_Horse
  • @George_Horse I mentioned this in the debate, read it
  • George_HorseGeorge_Horse 499 Pts   -  
    I guess I can agree with "standardized-tests and end-of-year tests".
    "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

    "A communist is like a crocodile" ~Winston Churchill

    We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.~Orson Welles
  • @George_Horse is that sarcasm or not?
  • Any tests on paper at school helps with letting the staff know how much you know the subjects talked about in the test.

    For example, science. Science tests help confirm you know things such as chemistry, biology, and topics regarding the aforementioned subjects. Why should we not have testing?
  • ErfisflatErfisflat 1675 Pts   -  
    TheUnknownNeophyte
    Pseudoscience: noun; a collection of beliefs or practices mistakenly regarded as being based on scientific method.

    Scientific method: noun; a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.

    The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.

    Wayne Dyer
  • agsragsr 881 Pts   -  
    Instead of getting rid of tests, I hope we can deploy more computer based topic testing like in learning apps.  This way kids can verify they understood particular topic and can remediate specific gaps timely.  Year end testing is a valuable tool, but is that too late to do anything about?
    Live Long and Prosper
  • @agsr year end testing could be changed in different ways, we could have an important aristocrat related to education maybe demand a change, or stop the testing. In my debate I bring up that it'll be hard to make a change, maybe reading it again would help you find another answer
  • agsragsr 881 Pts   -  
    @TheUnknownNeophyte, I reviewed your debate again, and still hold my position that tests aren't the core of the problem. It is the "how" of the testing. Your issue of religion study is valid, but there are private schools based on that or can be supplemented with extra studies.  At the end of the day, we need a way of measuring progress, so eliminating tests is problematic 
    Live Long and Prosper
  • @agsr yes, I agree with you
  • FascismFascism 344 Pts   -  
    Standardized tests inhibit creativity and cause teachers to only prepare students for the tests. So basically:
    Student: "Why do I have to learn the lesson?"
    Teacher: "This lesson will be important for you in the future because we have a test in six weeks." 
    Also some students are just not good at standardized testing and are better at other things, such as creativity. This is a famous cartoon:
    Image result for standardized testing memes(exaggeration)
    If teachers differentiate their teaching, then they should not standardize their tests. 

    Standardized tests should exist because they provide useful information, such as if a school is doing its job correctly, but we should also have other ways to test a student. Of course, every test has some element of standardization to it, which we can't get rid of. One solution to this is having multiple types of tests which the student can choose to do. He can choose what he is best at. For example, choosing between the ACT and SAT. 
    TheUnknownNeophyte
  • @Fascism in this argument it seems to me that you have supported me and corrected me, and also grabbed my interests at the start, informing me in a funny way
  • WakeWake 124 Pts   -  
    I don't know that any rests are necessary. The intelligence of today's people is so low that only one in a thousands could pass a test on how to use a bottle opener.
  • FascismFascism 344 Pts   -  
    @TheUnknownNeophyte
    Yes I was expanding on your idea so that other people arguing against you can see
  • averyaproaveryapro 150 Pts   -  
    You see, I think that these tests are necessary. I think this because this is how schools track student't progress and make them better at what they are doing
  • MissDMeanorMissDMeanor 100 Pts   -  
    Tests are the only quantifiable piece of data on the student's knowledge. There is no way to measure how smart a student is without testing them.
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